Much like the more mature northern New Jersey market, the central New Jersey region has also been inundated with an unprecedented number of big box spaces in the wake of bankruptcies and major or selective downsizings by various national chains. "Along the four corridors, chain-wide or selective closures of Circuit City, Linens 'n Things, Levitz, Comp USA, Value City, Office Depot, Office Max, Sears' Great Indoors and Home Depot locations accounted for 1.19 million square feet, or 47%, of the vacancies in our 2008 survey," Brunelli says.

He adds that the effects of those big-box closures were exacerbated by the numerous smaller space vacancies stemming from bankruptcies or downsizings at such chains as Marty's Shoes, Harvey Electronics, Fashion Bug, Domain, Hollywood Video, Bennigan's, Steak & Ale and LoneStar, as well as closings of various independent furniture, flooring and other home products retailers that have been impacted by the depressed housing market.

Look for vacancies in central New Jersey to get pushed up further by the current wind-down of Fortunoff's, whose operations in the region included two Outdoors stores along Routes 1 and 35, as well as a full-line location within Woodbridge Center mall.

"Our expectation is that most of the big box and smaller locations that have gone dark in central New Jersey will ultimately stay in the hands of retail, restaurant or personal service chains," Brunelli says. "With the current market conditions, there's probably never been a better time for expansion-minded chains to capitalize on extraordinary opportunities in well-located properties. We can expect national value-oriented chains like Wal-Mart, Marshall's, T.J. Maxx and Kohl's to take advantage of such opportunities to round out their market presence."